I recently completed the single player campaign of Titanfall 2 and can honestly say that it lives up to the reputation that it has garnered as one of the greats. If anything my one criticism is that it is FAR too short simply because it is so fun you don’t want it to end.
This discussion would be useless without an ode to The Witcher 3. By far the best campaign I’ve played in recent years, if not of all time… It’s probably a bit of a cheat though, as the game is a campaign. I suppose only games with multiple modes (i.e. multiplayer games) should qualify.
In that case, Destiny 2 stands out in recent memory, especially The Forsaken’s story. The base game and first expansions weren’t bad either, though. I could probably add in Destiny 1 as well, as I bought the game (and all DLCs) sometime last year and have been systematically working through it. The story, especially The Taken King, is really a grandeur of grand sci-fi.
Titanfall 2 (fully agree)
Half Life (the immersion back in 1998 was amazing)
Modern warfare 2 (technically the same core team that made Titanfall 2)
Bioshock
Halo 3
Some great choices here. If we are allowed to choose purely SP games then obviously my first choice would be Deus Ex.
There’s a massive global conspiracy happening and you’re thrown right into it. This is probably the best thing, you really feel like you are part of the story. It’s largely a gameplay driven plot too, it’s not something that happens just through cutscenes. I replay this game fairly frequently and it still holds up.
A more modern take on this type of game is Prey. It combines similar gameplay but with some unique twists. The story is also a big part of the game.
Right, games with great campaigns. Oh there are so many of them that I enjoyed, but here are some of the highlights:
Deus Ex - International conspiracies, global domination, Illuminatti, it’s all here, and still stand as one of the best campaigns I’ve played through in my life
Mass Effect 1/2 - There is no way I can choose between the two, but what a fantastic storyline and campaign to have played through and tried to save the galaxy
Red Dead Redemption 2 - Oh boy, that campaign was an absolute duzi, not just due to lenght, but how it challenges you as a person in many ways
Half Life 2 - It’s not just considered the best game ever for nothing.
Mass Effect though, every time I start I get into the “I’m Commander Shepard and I need to save the world” mode. It’s one of the few titles that I feel connected to main character, like every single thing I do matters. The sense of wonder with the first title, the urgency of the second and the total dispair of the third.